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State terrorism


 

State terrorism is a controversial concept that is without a clear definition (see below). Depending on definition it can include acts of violence or repressions perpetrated by a national government or its proxy. Whether a particular act is described as "terrorism" may depend on whether the speaker considers the action justified or necessary, or whether it is carried out as part of an armed conflict. It may also depend on whether the speaker supports the government in question.

Acts labelled as state terrorism, sorted by state

Argentina

The "Dirty War" in Argentina in the 1970s is a classic example of the use of terror tactics employed by a state against its own people. In 1976, the Argentine military overthrew the government of Isabel Peron and undertook a campaign against all people labeled as subversives, who were thought to form the social base for a violent leftist insurgency. Estimates of the number of people "disappeared" and presumed dead range from 6,000 to over 30,000. A 1984 official report following the return to democracy put the total at near 11,000. The junta used tactics inspired by the French experience fighting in Algeria. Some allege that the U.S. Government was involved by through training programs at the former School of the Americas{{ref|americas}}, although relations between the two countries were cool during the period due to the Carter administration's criticisms of the regime's human rights record.

Related Topics:
Dirty War - 1970s - 1976 - Argentine military - Isabel Peron - Subversive - Insurgency - Disappeared - 1984 - Junta - Algeria - U.S. Government - School of the Americas - Carter administration - Human rights

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Tactics included Death squads, Forced disappearance, Torture, Child stealing, and Ideological persecution.

Related Topics:
Death squads - Forced disappearance - Torture - Child stealing - Ideological persecution

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Chile

Chile, under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, pursued an extensive policy regarded by many as state terrorism against both civilians at home and perceived enemies abroad. On the international stage, the Chilean state's actions included the assassination of former ambassador Orlando Letelier in Washington, D.C., by means of a car bomb, the killing of General Carlos Prats in Argentina in similar circumstances, and the attempted assassination of Bernardo Leighton in Italy. In 1990 the Chilean president Patricio Aylwin created a commission to investigate the illegal killings carried out under the Pinochet dictatorship, 2,920 cases were reported to the commission. His report was delivered in 1991 and it is known as the Rettig report{{ref|Rettig}}, after his chairman, Mr. Raul Rettig. In 2003 President Ricardo Lagos established the National Commission Over Political Prison and Torture, oriented to develop a rigorous survey of persons that have suffered political prison or torture under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, The commission's report was delivered to the President on November 10, 2004 and includes the declarations of 35,868 victims.

Related Topics:
Chile - Dictatorship - Augusto Pinochet - Orlando Letelier - Washington, D.C. - Car bomb - Carlos Prats - Argentina - Bernardo Leighton - Italy - 1990 - Patricio Aylwin - 1991 - 2003 - Ricardo Lagos - National Commission Over Political Prison and Torture - November 10 - 2004

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Colombia

Colombian paramilitary groups, such as the AUC, have usually been considered responsible for as many as 70 to 80% of yearly civilian deaths in the South American country's internal conflict{{ref|hrw_factsheet}}. It has been argued on many occasions that some of these groups have maintained well documented relationships with several elements of the official state and police forces. The paramilitaries have often been accused of making and executing death threats against suspected guerrilla collaborators among the civilian population. The blame for many of the murders of a number of the poor and the homeless, as well as street children and others allegedly considered social undesirables, has also been assigned to them, though most of these crimes remain unresolved.

Related Topics:
Colombia - AUC - Guerrilla

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In recent years, some civilian critics, in addition to the Marxist FARC and ELN (blamed for an estimated 15 to 25% of yearly civilian deaths), have criticized the Colombian government's policies, including, but not limited to, those of Colombian president Álvaro Uribe, considering that some measures, such as the use of temporary mass roundups (where many of the detainees are later released) and the attempted implementation of an anti-terror statute, can be seen as signs of alleged state repression. (The anti-terror statute was shot down in late August 2004 by the Colombian Constitutional Court due to a procedure error{{ref|informePrensa}}. The Court has also previously struck down other security measures it considered as unconstitutional.)

Related Topics:
Marxist - FARC - ELN - Álvaro Uribe - August - 2004

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The state itself is usually directly blamed by critics for about 5% of the annual civilian deaths in Colombia's civil war{{ref_label|hrw_factsheet|3|a}}. The rebel groups themselves (and/or those that may sympathize with their goals and/or methods) may label the Colombian state as "terrorist", and vice versa, while international organizations, such as the United Nations or Human Rights Watch, for the most part, do not apply the term to either party as a whole, though specific acts and individuals might qualify as such.

Related Topics:
Civil war - United Nations - Human Rights Watch

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China

The government of the People's Republic of China has repeatedly engaged in behaviors considered to violate international standards of human rights. Some of these are also considered by many as acts of state terrorism, such as the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

Related Topics:
People's Republic of China - Human right - Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

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China has also actively suppressed movements in Tibet which support independence for the Dalai Lama. Some of these actions, such as mass imprisonment and using violence against peaceful demonstrators, would be classified by some as state terrorism.

Related Topics:
China - Tibet - Dalai Lama

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Cuba

Under the leadership of Fidel Castro, Cuba has been accused by human rights organizations in the world of various abuses of human rights. These allegations include several thousand extrajudicial killings, political imprisonment, and coercion of its population through control of basic resources. The issue still remains controversial, particularly in the United States.

Related Topics:
Fidel Castro - Cuba - Various abuses of human rights - United States

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France

In 1985, the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, had travelled to New Zealand to lead a flotilla of yachts protesting against French nuclear testing at Mururoa Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia. The ship was sunk just before midnight on July 10 1985 by two explosive devices attached to the hull by operatives of French intelligence (DGSE). Of the twelve people on board, one, Portuguese photographer Fernando Pereira, was killed by the second device when he attempted to retrieve his equipment. Two of the French agents were caught and jailed, but were returned to France soon after. It was the only terrorist act ever committed in New Zealand's history.

Related Topics:
1985 - Greenpeace - Rainbow Warrior - New Zealand - Yacht - French - Nuclear test - Mururoa Atoll - Tuamotu Archipelago - French Polynesia - July 10 - DGSE - Portuguese - Photographer - New Zealand's history

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Numerous actions of the French government and military forces during the Algerian War of Independence in the late 1950s, when Algeria fought France, of which it was then a dependency, for independence, have been alleged as human rights violations. The Algerian war is considered by many to be a significant "black eye" in French history. Some hold that the Indochina War (1949-1954) has similar implications.

Related Topics:
Algerian War of Independence - Indochina War

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Germany

In the Weimar Republic of the 1920s and early 1930s, the Nazi Party's paramilitary organisation (Sturmabteilung, or SA for short) terrorized political opponents and minorities. Although the SA committed their crimes in the open, they were only forbidden for short periods of time in 1924 and 1932. In 1932, power shifted from SA to the other Nazi paramilitary organisation, the SS. During Adolf Hitler's rule of Germany (1933-1945) the SS played a key role in building a system of state terror. It controlled the Gestapo, and was responsible for the persecution of the Jews and other races, brutalities and killings in concentration camps, excesses in the administration of occupied territories, the administration of the slave labor program and the maltreatment and murder of prisoners of war.

Related Topics:
Weimar Republic - 1920s - 1930s - Nazi Party - Sturmabteilung - 1924 - 1932 - Nazi - SS - Adolf Hitler - 1933 - 1945 - Gestapo - Jew - Concentration camp - Slave labor - Prisoners of war

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During the 1950s in East Germany, labor revolts and labor strikes were often put down with what most would consider hugely disproportionate force, the goal likely being to terrorize workers into conforming behavior. Also, East Germany provided assistance to the Red Army Faction, a West German militant organization.

Related Topics:
1950s - East Germany - Labor strike - Red Army Faction - West German

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India

The actions by Indian military against many secessionist movements are labeled as state terrorism by certain human rights organizations and victims of the actions. These actions include extrajudicial executions and the alleged killing of innocent civilians. Examples are the military operations in Kashmir, Punjab and Assam. http://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdv10n2/manipur.htm, http://www.dalitstan.org/journal/brahman/bra000/sterpunj.html

Related Topics:
Indian military - Secession - Human rights - Extrajudicial - Execution - Kashmir - Punjab - Assam

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Indonesia

The massacres of members of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) from 1965 - 1969 are estimated to have claimed the lives of up to a million people and have been described as "anti-communist pogroms". The official minimum number of deaths is 500,000.

Related Topics:
Communist Party of Indonesia - 1965 - 1969

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The Indonesian government has repeatedly used state sponsored terrorism as a method of controlling and opressing several minority groups under its rule. They are Aceh (Sumatra), East Timor and West Papua (Irian Jaya).

Related Topics:
Indonesia - Aceh - Sumatra - East Timor - Papua

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Iran

Iran under the Shah (1953-79) was a notorious employer of state terrorism, most notably through its covert intelligence agency SAVAK, founded in 1957 with the aid of the CIA, which arbitrarily detained and tortured suspected dissidents as a matter of course with the aim of squelching opposition to the Shah's autocratic rule.

Related Topics:
SAVAK - CIA

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After the toppling of the Shah in 1979, revolutionary Iran sponsored several terrorist organizations through aid and training. Iran continues to fund organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and PFLP-GC; as well as providing "financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid" to Hizbullah and the Kurdistan Workers Party{{ref|pgtrpt_2002}}.

Related Topics:
Hamas - Islamic Jihad - PFLP-GC - Hizbullah - Kurdistan Workers Party

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Iraq

Iraq under Saddam Hussein is widely believed to have been responsible for numerous chemical weapons attacks on its own civilian population to stem revolutionary activity during the Gulf War and pacify ethnic groups. One of the more famous incidents is the controversial Halabja poison gas attack.

Related Topics:
Iraq - Saddam Hussein - Chemical weapon - Revolution - Gulf War - Ethnic - Halabja poison gas attack

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See also: Human rights situation in Saddam's Iraq and Human rights in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq.

Related Topics:
Human rights situation in Saddam's Iraq - Human rights in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq

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Israel

During the al-Aqsa Intifada, Israel engaged in tactics and controversial military operations that resulted in criticism of its policies and actions. According to Dr. Lev Grinberg, a political sociologist at Ben Gurion University, Israel's actions constituted state terrorism{{ref|commondreams}}. Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and CNN founder Ted Turner have also referred to some of the acts as examples of state terrorism.{{ref|BBC_Erdogan}}{{ref|Gardian_Turner}}

Related Topics:
Al-Aqsa Intifada - Israel - Sociologist - Ben Gurion University - Turkish - Recep Tayyip Erdogan - CNN - Ted Turner

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In a July 29, 2005 interview in the Nazareth-based Arab-Israeli newspaper Kul al-Arab, former Israeli Minister of Education Shulamit Aloni stated that "terror utilized by Israel in the territories is worse than Palestinian terrorism"{{ref|ynetnews_Shulamit}}. Military operations into Palestinian territory, the alleged harassment of Palestinian civilians by both military personnel and Israeli citizens, and the deaths of civilians during the assassination of Arab terrorist leaders have also resulted in human-rights criticism. For example, in 1982, an assassination attempt on Yasser Arafat killed 200 people when a Beirut apartment block was destroyed by an Israeli bomb, and in 1985, 73 people were killed in another assassination attempt on Arafat in Tunis. {{ref|BBC_Arafat}}.

Related Topics:
July 29 - 2005 - Nazareth - Arab-Israeli - Minister of Education - Territories - Palestinian terrorism - Assassination - Arab - Terrorist - Yasser Arafat - Tunis

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Italy

The relationship between the Italian state security forces and neo-fascist paramilitary groups could be regarded as crossing over into state terrorism. The strategy of tension begun in the late 1960s to counter the perceived threat of communist groups involved collusion and provocation culminating in the 1980 bombing of Bologna railway station. The 85 deaths were immediately blamed by the government on left-wing terrorists but the bombing appears to have been the work of neo-fascists. The exact level of collusion remains unknown but in 1995, two intelligence agents were among people sentenced for investigation diversion.

Related Topics:
Italian - Strategy of tension - 1980 - Bombing of Bologna railway station - Left-wing terrorists - Intelligence agents

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Mexico

It is claimed that during the 1970s Mexican security authorities employed torture and assassination against guerrilla members, student protesters and their sympathizers. Since the mid to late 1990s illegal paramilitary groups have clashed with the EZLN in the Chiapas region, and acted against their supporters, leading to several massacres and forced displacements of civilians. Critics claim that some of these violent actions occurred with local military and police tolerance or cooperation. {{ref|Mexico}}

Related Topics:
1970s - Mexican - Torture - Assassination - 1990s - Paramilitary - EZLN - Chiapas

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Myanmar

The ruling junta of Myanmar has repeatedly engaged in activities to suppress democratic movements within the country. Many of the junta's opponents, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, believe the goal of some of these is to terrorize the population into compliance.

Related Topics:
Junta - Myanmar - Democratic - Aung San Suu Kyi

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See also: August 8, 1998 Burma protest

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Pakistan

The East Pakistan crisis of the early 1970s and West Pakistan's military involvement in killings (Operation Searchlight) of East Pakistanis during the Bangladesh Liberation War have given it the label of an act of state terrorism in certain cases.

Related Topics:
East Pakistan - 1970s - West Pakistan - Operation Searchlight - Bangladesh Liberation War

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Soviet Union

Under the reign of Josef Stalin (and, to a lesser extent, under several other Soviet leaders), political opponents of the Soviet regime, as well as perceived "enemies of the people", were subject to incarceration under life-threatening circumstances and execution. Stalin was able to cement his hold on power by intimidating and executing his political opponents, real and imagined.

Related Topics:
Josef Stalin - Soviet

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The assassination of dissidents in exile (such as the 1940 murder of Leon Trotsky in Mexico by agents of Stalin) might also be considered an example of state terrorism.

Related Topics:
Assassination - 1940 - Leon Trotsky - Mexico

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Spain

During the 1970s and the 1980s, several groups, Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey, Batallón Vasco Español, Antiterrorismo ETA (ATE), and Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL), attacked suspected members of Basque terrorist organization ETA. These groups have been suspected and in some cases proved to include Spanish policemen and to be funded with state secret funds.

Related Topics:
1970s - 1980s - Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey - Batallón Vasco Español - Antiterrorismo ETA - Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación - GAL - Basque - ETA - Spanish police - Secret funds

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Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzón's investigations led to the conviction of a Spanish PSOE minister and several subordinates for organizing the GAL.

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The human rights abuses by Falangist militias against defeated Republicans in the aftermath of Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War could be regarded as an early example of state terrorism.

Related Topics:
Falangist militias - Francisco Franco - Spanish Civil War

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Syria

The United States Department of State accuses Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism for providing "political and limited material support" to a number of Palestinian rejectionist groups, deemed to be terrorist groups by the United States, Canada, European Union, and Israel. These groups include the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Hezbollah.{{ref|OCC}}

Related Topics:
Syria - United States - Canada - European Union - Israel - Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command - Palestinian Islamic Jihad - Hamas - Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine - Hezbollah

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The leaders of many of these groups live in Damascus, including Ramadan Shalah, the Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad; his deputy Ziad Nehaleh; Imad al-Alami, a senior Hamas operative; Abdallah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdish Workers Party, which has carried out attacks in Turkey and elsewhere; and other leading Palestinians such as Ahmed Jibril, George Habash and Nayef Hawatmeh. Syria also facilitated the presence of these groups in Lebanon, particularly in the Beka'a Valley, where Hezbollah engages in narcotics production and large-scale currency forgery.

Related Topics:
Damascus - Turkey - Ahmed Jibril - George Habash - Lebanon - Beka'a Valley

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The Syrian government itself has been accused of engaging in state terrorism by President George W. Bush and by the American public broadcaster PBS{{ref|PBS}}. The European Community met on November 10, 1986 to discuss the attempt to bomb an El Al flight out of London, and the subsequent arrest and trial in the UK of Nizar Hindawi, who allegedly received Syrian government support after the bombing, and possibly beforehand {{ref|BBC_1986}}. The European response was to impose sanctions against Syria and state that these measures were intended "to send Syria the clearest possible message that what has happened is absolutely unacceptable."{{ref|ICT}}

Related Topics:
George W. Bush - PBS - November 10 - 1986 - El Al - London

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However, Syria has assisted the United States and other governments in their opposition to al-Qaeda (Country Reports on Terrorism, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, April 27, 2005).

Related Topics:
Al-Qaeda - April 27 - 2005

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The following acts of violence or assassinations were carried out against those who opposed Syria, and Syrian involvement or support has been cited to various degrees:

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  • (February 2005) Rafik Hariri was killed by a car bomb which killed ten others. Hariri was a known opponent of the pro-Syrian policies of Emile Lahoud. The opposition parties in Lebanon accuse Syria of orchestrating the assassination. {{ref|cedarland}}
  • (October 2004) Failed assassination attempt against anti-Syrian politician Marwan Hmade. He had demanded Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.
  • (May 2002) Assassination of anti-Syrian-occupation activist Ramzi Irani whose body was found in the boot of his car, nearly two weeks after his kidnapping.
  • (October 1990) Assassination of Lebanese leader, Dany Chamoun and his wife and two children immediately following Syrian occupation.
  • (August 1987) Assassination of Dr. Mohammad Choucair, an advisor to Lebanese President Amine Gemayel was killed inside his home in the Syrian-controlled part of West Beirut on August 2, 1987.
  • (October 1986) Assassination of Sheikh Soubhi Saleh, the head of the Islamic Shiite Higher Council.
  • (September 1982) Assassination of Lebanese President-elect Bashir Gemayel (1947-1982) who was killed along with many others in the bombing of his party's Beirut headquarters.
  • (July 1980) Assassination of Riad Taha, a prominent journalist.
  • (February 1980) Assassination of Selim Lowzi, a prominent journalist who opposed the Syrian regime.
  • (March 1977) Assassination of Kamal Jumblatt, a Lebanese Druze leader near a Syrian checkpoint after he publicly criticized the Syrian invasion of Lebanon.

United Kingdom

Former Colonies

Human rights abuses against independence movements (many of which were themselves violent) and British collusion in them have been reported in a number of former colonies of the British Empire.{{ref|Unpeople}}

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Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and British army{{ref|PSS}}, have colluded in the deaths of Irish republicans at the hands of different loyalist paramilitary groups. The victims included members of the IRA, Sinn Féin and those perceived to be aiding them, including solicitors {{ref|amnesty_13706}}. There have been a number of investigations and reports into Collusion between Security Forces and Paramilitaries{{ref|CbSFaP}}, of which the Stevens Report is the most comprehensive to date, although no concrete evidence has been presented that the collusion was authorised by the British government. Without such evidence these actions cannot be considered state terrorism.

Related Topics:
Northern Ireland - Royal Ulster Constabulary - British army - Irish - Republicans - Loyalist - Paramilitary - IRA - Sinn Féin - Stevens Report - British government

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There are also allegations that a "shoot-to-kill" policy existed in the 1980s, usually concerning incidents involving members of the Special Air Service, Ulster Defence Regiment or the RUC. The most famous allegations regard the Death on the Rock case on Gibraltar. Many groups, including Sinn Féin{{ref|Vista}}, demand that further enquires are made to find out how high up the collusion went, and while members of the British government deny that any further investigations will find any evidence of government involvement in the collusion, they stated they were in favour of further investigations into specific incidents such as the one by Canadian Judge Peter Cory. On publication of Cory's reports on 7 October 2004 the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Paul Murphy said "I firmly believe that the only way we can put the past behind us in Northern Ireland is by seeking to establish the truth." {{ref|Cory}}

Related Topics:
Shoot-to-kill - Special Air Service - Ulster Defence Regiment - Gibraltar - Sinn Féin - Peter Cory - 7 October - 2004 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland - Paul Murphy

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However, the British government quickly passed the Inquiries Act 2005, limiting the scope of the inquiries proposed by Cory, which the judge has strongly criticised. The Irish government has recently threatened to take the British government to the European Court of Justice, over the latter's refusal to hand over files relating to the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings.

Related Topics:
Inquiries Act 2005 - Irish government - European Court of Justice - Dublin and Monaghan Bombings

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United States

A number of critics have labeled actions of the United States of America as terrorism.

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For instance, the U.S. has taken sides in various foreign civil wars and conflicts, notably siding with Israel against other Middle East countries. Also the U.S. is often accused of working with and supporting countries, political organizations, and juntas with questionable human rights practices and intentions. The CIA, in particular, has been accused of supporting terrorist organizations in other countries. See also: Operation PBSUCCESS, Operation Just Cause, Operation Ajax, and Operation Urgent Fury)

Related Topics:
Israel - Middle East - Junta - CIA - Operation PBSUCCESS - Operation Just Cause - Operation Ajax - Operation Urgent Fury

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Other controversial examples include the U.S. intervention in Chile, and many other U.S. foreign interventions. Vietnam, and the Korean War are also cited as terrorism by some critics because of the large number of civilian casualities and disproportionate American military power. However, the semantic line between war and state terrorism is a fine one in these cases. The U.S. and many supporters have justified its actions as humanitarian relief and/or self-defense in different contexts: against the spread of communism(during the Cold War), Al-Qaeda(present), and other perceived threats to itself, its strategic interests or its allies.

Related Topics:
U.S. intervention in Chile - U.S. foreign interventions - Vietnam - Korean War - Humanitarian - Communism - Al-Qaeda

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The United States' military action in Nicaragua between 1984-1985 is criticized by some commentators as state terrorism after the International Court of Justice, found the U.S. guilty of "unlawful use of force", and "in breach of its obligation under customary international law not to use force against another state," in Nicaragua v. United States. The United States rejected this ruling. The Reagan administration had created and sponsored the Contra insurgents who fought the elected Sandinista government and were notorious for brutal attacks on civilians.

Related Topics:
Nicaragua - 1984 - 1985 - International Court of Justice - Nicaragua v. United States - Reagan - Contra - Sandinista

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The U.S. Army runs the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation training camp, the successor to "The School of the Americas", in Georgia where some of its graduates have gone on to commit acts of what others consider to be state terrorism in Latin America.

Related Topics:
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation - Georgia - Latin America

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The U.S. Army and other government officials have argued that the vast majority of graduates have not committed such actions, and therefore the former "School of the Americas" is not directly responsible for them, and they have also pointed out that the institution has, in recent times, added courses that emphasize dealing with respect for human rights and civilians to the curriculum.

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The recent War on Terrorism, which was started by the United States, has been accused by many of the U.S.'s critics of actually being a front for state-sponsored terrorism, often parodied as the War OF Terrorism. The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan have been cited, for the U.S.'s acts of torture, bombing, and killing of mass numbers of civilians. This includes the internment of Arabs and others at Camp X-Ray and Camp Delta where mistreatment and abuse has been alleged to have taken place, and the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib, to the U.S.'s shock and awe bombing campaign of Baghdad.

Related Topics:
War on Terrorism - United States - Iraq - Afghanistan - Torture - Bombing - Civilians - Internment - Arabs - Camp X-Ray - Camp Delta - Abu Ghraib - Shock and awe - Baghdad

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U.S. versus Cuba

It has been alleged that the USA has been in a "state of persistent aggression against Cuba" since 1959, when Fidel Castro deposed the government of Fulgencio Batista, which may consistute state terrorism.

Related Topics:
Cuba - 1959 - Fidel Castro - Fulgencio Batista

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In 1962, Operation Northwood was drafted, intended to gain public support for invasion of Cuba by false flag operations involving methods including staged Cuban attacks; it was never executed.

Related Topics:
1962 - Operation Northwood - False flag

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